well-oiled

comparative more well-oiled · superlative most well-oiled

1. idiomaticWell-run; smoothrunning; efficiently run.

   Pro-Trump political influencers have spent years building a well-oiled media machine that swarms around every major news story, creating a torrent of viral commentary that reliably drowns out both the mainstream media and the liberal opposition.

   2020 August 27, Kevin Roose, “What if Facebook Is the Real ‘Silent Majority’?”, in New York Times

   Synonyms: businesslike, efficient, economical, efficacious, efficient, potent

2. idiomaticDrunk.

   Well, in 2000, a pair of well-oiled strangers hit the news and were arrested – after groping each other and undressing on a transatlantic flight – but it’s usually less extreme, as with the couple who were intensely snogging in 2020.

   2024 April 9, “In-flight canoodling: is it ever acceptable to spoon at 40,000ft?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   1 more example

   Swinging onto the Treherbert branch under the new OLE, the train's onboard Passenger Information Screens announce we have entered a 'no alcohol' zone. That doesn't seem to help, as some of the passengers who joined us earlier seem 'well oiled' already.

   2024 November 13, Paul Bigland, “Much to admire... but pockets of neglect”, in RAIL, number 1022, page 48

   Synonyms: lubricated, lubed, sauced, Adrian Quist, adrip, aled up, all mops and brooms, arseholed

3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see well, oiled.